Joya de Nicaragua announced a new vitola in their Número Uno line: Le Premier, a 6 ⅞ x 48 Churchill. Número Uno began as a cigar only offered to World Leaders by Nicaraguan ambassadors, in 2018 a small amount of bundles were sold at Joya de Nicaragua events, and in 2019 the cigar saw a limited release to the world earning the #8 spot on our top 25 cigars of 2019 list. Número Uno is part of the Obras Maestras, or "Masterpieces" collection meaning Joya's top of the line offerings.
"First and foremost, this is a cigar that must be retrohaled to be appreciated. The smoke on the palate is fine but the vanilla essence in the sinuses for the final two third made me want more. I could see this as the perfect way to kill an hour with friends at a BBQ or in conversation. It won't pull all of your attention away from the people and times you're enjoy. Hell it might even enhance them. " -Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
"Just like you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, you shouldn't judge this cigar by it's wrapper. Looking at this cigar and one might say words like ugly, rough looking, and poorly made but that is far from true. The burn, the favors, and performance of this cigar punch above it's weight class. The extra tobacco in the center of this cigar caused it to lose the intensity and body that I loved in the first third. While the weird mishmash of flavors, in the final third, had me conflicted but in the end the cigar made me go and grab my nub tool and smoke it till I was burning my lips. This is a cigar that I would reach for again and again. If it had an option for a smaller ring gauge size and it would be a box buy. Well done!" -Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
"A truly enjoyable cigar from first light to the end. Flavors were on point and melded together to create a great experience. I'd easily give this a "great" and would definitely buy at least a fiver if not a box." -Kevin J. (maninblack77)
"It's a winner for me. I really enjoyed the shifts in profile, the quality of the smoke, and just how well it performed even with several areas that were damaged in transit. I'm thoroughly impressed with the experience and will be picking some of these up. " -Alan (Eulogy)
AllBlind Cigar ReviewsDominican RepublicE.P. CarrilloFeaturedIPCPRMexican San AndresRobustoVentura Cigars
·"A cigar I hated to lose in the process of smoking. Great notes of cherry, earth, leather, cocoa, and oak make this a excellent cigar. Great ash that hung on to the cigar for 30 minutes or better. Five or more of these cigar would round out your humidor perfectly." -Sean F. (fullermaine)
AllBlind Cigar ReviewsCorona GordaCubariquenoErik EspinosaFeaturedHabanoHector Alfonso Sr.IPCPRNaturalNicaragua
·"This was an enjoyable cigar from start to finish. There were constant surprises in the profile from the pre-light all the way to the nub. It progressed the way I like for cigars to smoke. It started out with very pleasing flavors, and developed more, and different ones as it went along. The strength started out close to medium, and slowly progressed to finish solidly as medium full. This would pair well with bourbon or rum, and smokers with a little experience will get the most from it." -Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
AllBlind Cigar ReviewsDominican RepublicDouble ToroEl ArtistaFeaturedIPCPRJuan PeñaMaduroMexican San Andres
·"My first impressions were negative due to the size of the cigar. Eliminating my bias towards that was easy once I started smoking the cigar. It really was a pleasant and long experience. This is still not necessarily going to be a first choice smoke for me but I can say it was flavorful enough all the way through to work for a niche smoke at the right time for me. Well constructed and good looking, I’d revisit this cigar again." -Diana (ArmyRN)
Last year, HVC released the 500th Anniversary cigar to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the formation of the city Havana, Cuba. HVC stand for Havana City Cuba. Now, that 500th Anniversary gets two new vitolas. The original "TESOROS" measured 5 7/8 X 52, now they are adding a 4 1/2x52 SHORTS and a 5 5/8x46 SELECTOS. The SHORTS will be exclusive to online stores, and SELECTOS exclusive to brick and mortar. There will only be a combined 1200 boxes made of new sizes.
After shipping the lancero version earlier than anticipated in March this year, Black Label Trading Company is now shipping the rest of the vitolas to retailers.
